Companies Fly to Unload Private Planes

The business-jet industry couldn’t have asked for worse PR than members of Congress ripping auto executives for traveling by company plane to beg for taxpayer money. By the time the Big Three execs returned—by hybrid car—to Washington, the corporate jet was a symbol of bloated corporate excess, seen by the public as evil, “right up there with Saddam Hussein,” an industry consultant tells the Economist.

The number of used jets on offer rose 62% in November as chastened firms like General Motors, Ford, and Citigroup rushed to sell their planes. Or have they? Asking price for jets rose 3.4% in the same period, suggesting the firms are charging prices higher than they know anyone will pay in order to appear frugal—but keep flying. (More private jet stories.)